It seems that plans changed quickly from a 2 night safari to a 5 day safari - 180km across the desert towards Jaisalmer. After all, the further into the desert you go, the more remote villages you are able to see. The reason we chose to do our camel safari from Bikaner as opposed to Jaisalmer was because Jaisalmer is known for its abundance of tourists - and having completed the safari and seen what Jaisalmer is like, I am 100% glad of our decision and have no regrets.
So after just one night in Bikaner, we packed off early in the morning...